Identical Twins and Leukemia
We aren’t clear on the details of this study (some of it’s over our heads), but the situation of a pair of English identical twins is advancing the scientific knowledge of the development of leukemia.
Olivia Murphy was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 2 years old, and yet her genetic duplicate, Isabella, has been healthy since birth. After chemotherapy and remission, the parents of these identical twins agreed to allow regular blood tests for both girls as part of a research study to determine how the cancer cells developed. Because of this research, scientists have been able to prove the existence of leukemia stem cells.
From the article: “All cancers are caused by genetic mutations which cause cells to divide and multiply uncontrollably. Leukaemia is caused by two different mutations – one which occurs in the womb, the other after birth… both girls had the first mutation, but only Olivia had the second.”
Read more to see if you can get the study more than we do. However, we do know that twin studies such as this have aided in advancing many types of scientific understanding – physical and psychological.
Twins separated at birth are reunited at 3 years of age
We just found this audio clip from a BBC news service. Several years ago, 2 little girls were abandoned at the gates of a textile factory in China, and they were presumably twins. They ended up in a local orphanage, and both were individually adopted by families in Chicago and Florida. (Why the orphanage didn’t keep them together, we can’t even guess.)
Coincidentally, the girls were given the same name by there new parents – Mia. The adoptive mothers of the girls connected through an internet forum, discovering that their girls had (nearly) the same birthday. They ended up running DNA testing and determined that the girls were definitely sisters.
As you listen to the clip, the girls end up speaking to the reporter and the similarities are definite. But we have to wonder if they are in fact fraternal twins, since they didn’t mention that they had duplicate DNA but familial DNA.
Sudanese Twins star in Sundance Documentary
“The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins” follows artist Vanessa Beecroft as she becomes more and more attached to a set of twin orphans in Sudan. She intends to adopt the pair, and throughout the process, she begins the bonding process through breast feeding and incorporating them into her art.
It’s a controversial documentary that has found an audience this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. Although we typically are more interested in the experiences and relationships of the twins themselves, this film deals in the interesting and complicated relationships surrounding this particular twin set. And Sundance holds a special place in our hearts because Crissi used to work there.
